The Lone Wolf Howls and Other Stories
by Seshat
Summary: A short Remus ficlet about his PoV after the Potters' death and Sirius' imprisonment. Also contains a challenge! *NEW* a short Peter ficlet, I know, Die Wormtail, but just read it!
1. The Lone Wolf Howls

Disclaimer: I did not invent Lily, James, Harry, Peter, Sirius, or Remus.

A/N: Okay, I don't know how many of these types of stories there are floating around, but it is my opinion that there aren't enough Remus fics out there. So I'm issuing a challenge and I wrote my own as an example. I just want short stories (or long ones if you want) on Remus' reaction to the Potters' death and Sirius' imprisonment. This isn't exactly song fiction, it's more like poetry fiction. 

The Lone Wolf Howls

_A lone wolf stands on a beach_

Howling up at the full moon

The waves of the ocean crash on the shore

Drowning his sorrows in water

He releases his pain, his anguish

The torment of his very soul

I didn't even hear the news until today, two days after it happened. It was during a full moon, you see. I couldn't even be there. I had to read about it in the Prophet after I "recovered". Why didn't anyone tell me? Lily and James were my best friends! No one even bothered to tell me they had been murdered.

_He howls because he is sad_

He howls because he is lonely

He howls because he is a monster

He howls because he is lost

I never really saw it coming. I knew that Lily, James, and little Harry were under the Fidelius Charm, but I assumed they were safe. I mean, Sirius was their Secret Keeper. I can't believe that Sirius betrayed them. I suspected there was a spy in our midst because things happened that were too strange to be coincidence, but I never for one moment actually thought Sirius was the spy. It was Sirius. Sirius Black, the man I grew up with, the man who wasn't happy without a good prank. Who was always in a good mood, who was always there for me. Sirius, who came up with the idea to become Animagi. Sirius was my best friend. If someone had asked me a year ago if I ever thought that Sirius would betray Lily and James, I would have laughed. And kept laughing. The very idea was ludicrous. But who's laughing now?

_A wind whips past him_

Answering his mournful call

The sand beneath his paws shifts

Showing that his place in the world

Is tentative at best

Now he's a murderer. Our Padfoot, a murderer. Poor Peter, poor pathetic Peter. Wormtail was never brave, he was never smart. I never liked him much, I tolerated him for James' sake. Poor stupid Peter. Why did he go after Sirius? Order of Merlin, first class isn't much good to a dead man.

_His cries echo across the water_

Then sink like stones to the bottom

There is no one to hear him cry

No one to ease his suffering

I don't know what to do. I'm so alone. I have no family, no girlfriend, and now no friends. A lone wolf, that's what I am. Exiled from my pack. Or maybe they were exiled from me. Either way I'm alone. Everything I ever knew and understood is now so knotted and twisted, I doubt it will ever be untied.

_The wolf is all alone in the world_

So he howls to the moon

Telling it his troubles

Singing his sorrows

Lily, James, and Peter are dead. Sirius is in Azkaban, so I am the only Marauder left. I should have been their Secret Keeper. They'd still be alive, all of them. I wouldn't have betrayed them. I'd have let Voldemort kill me before I betrayed Lily, James, and Harry. But it does no good to wish that now. What was done was done. It leaves me alone and scared. I am afraid to continue my life with out them. What is Moony without Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs?

_Then the sun comes up_

And he is no longer a wolf

He is a man once more

But he is still alone

So he howls

I looked up at the stars in the sky, the crescent shaped moon, and felt my spine go rigid, the way it did when the moon was full. Tears ran down my cheeks. A wolf howled in the distance. I am the lone wolf. So alone, always alone.

And I threw my head back and howled. I am the lone wolf.

A/N: Now for the challenge. Here are the rules:

1) No slash implications please. I just want a story about a man mourning for his friends.

2) Can be song fiction or regular fiction, whatever. 

3) It can be from Remus' PoV or just about him, but he should be the main character. 

4) If you want, you can do an AU where Sirius wasn't captured or something, as long as it's about Remus.

That's it, otherwise use your imaginations. Oh, and if you want to branch off the original topic, that's fine. Another bunch of stories I'd like to read are where Remus falls in love, but I prefer it's not slash. I just feel that there aren't enough Remus fics about his struggle in life. So if you're up to the challenge, the gauntlet has been thrown down. Just be sure to e–mail when it's finished so I can read it.

*Seshat*


	2. Rat on the Run

A/N: Hey, another one about 'The Betrayal'. When I get around to it, I'll write one with Sirius in it. Then, who knows? 

Rat on the Run

He ran, squeaking something terrible, through the bushes and shrubs. His tiny heart was beating so fast it could burst at any moment. He ran as quickly as his little legs would carry him. The rat was on the run.

He stopped suddenly, and allowed his heart to slow down. There was a faint *pop* and the rat disappeared. In it's place was a man, or at least, half a man.

His name was Peter Pettigrew and he was running from the vengeance of two men who used to be his best friends. But that was before he turned to the Dark side and became a murderer and a traitor, the scum of the earth.

He continued to make his way through the forest, at a slower pace. He stumbled over protruding roots, tripped in hidden holes, fell when he was hit by branches. But he didn't dare stop, his life was at stake. His heart beat echoed in his ears, his hands shook, and he jumped at small noises.

The forest was filled with disturbing sounds, from the wind rustling in the trees to the howl of a werewolf in the distance. Peter quivered and cursed the names Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Damn them for revealing his secret and trying to kill him. But he had escaped. Peter puffed out his chest. He had out witted the Great Black and Lupin for the second time! Then he frowned. Granted, if Remus hadn't transformed causing a distraction, he would have been handed over to the Dementors.

At the thought of the hooded Azkaban guards, Peter shuddered. How had Sirius stood it all those years? Peter assumed he had gone crazy like everyone else in Azkaban. Damn him for escaping and ruining all of Peter's plans. Oh well, he'd just have to form new plans, better plans.

The wolf howled again. Peter was suddenly struck by a terrible idea. What if Remus, in werewolf form, was hunting him down at that very moment? With his enhanced wolf senses, Remus could sense him from a great distance. And animals could smell fear.

He started trembling again and took off deeper into the forest at a stumbling run. But he wasn't concentrating on what he was doing, he was thinking of what his former friends said to him back at the shack. He was thinking of Harry, of how he looked just like James, with Lily's haunting green eyes. Harry was a reincarnation of the ghosts of the dead Potters come to torture him.

At the time, betraying Lily and James had seemed like a good idea. The two of them never liked Peter much anyway, so what was it to him if they died? And Sirius had orchestrated it all! If he hadn't made Peter the Potters' Secret Keeper, they'd be alive. Well, at least have lived a little longer. His master would have found them eventually. Peter knew the guilt threatened to kill Sirius. Well, good, it should. Sirius should have known better than to place the lives of the Potters in Peter's hands. But how could he? After all, it was poor, stupid Peter. Poor, pathetic Peter.

Peter came to a screeching halt. It was too dark to go any farther. Even in rat–form he couldn't see past his whiskers. And with his luck he'd run straight into Remus. So he sniffed out a little cave, checked for inhabitants, and stuffed himself inside.

With nothing better to do, Peter thought back to the day when he had been forced into rat form for what seemed like forever. He never felt any remorse for the deaths of the Potters or placing the blame on Sirius. Why should he? It was better Sirius go to prison than he. No one understood, not even Remus, who was supposed to be the reasonable one. Peter had no choice. It was join Voldemort or die, and Peter would choose Voldemort over death any day. And if he could get something out of it for himself, so much the better. He was not selfish, he was simply devoted to self–preservation. It was himself first. Always. No one else would look out for him, he had to do it himself. 

Once or twice over the years, particularly in the past three when he, as Scabbers, had finally met Harry Potter, Peter felt just a twinge of guilt. It was his fault the boy was an orphan. But he didn't seem to be doing so terribly, after all, he was rich, famous, and popular. So he had no family, big deal. Peter hadn't had any family either, and he had been poor and unpopular. 

Why should he feel bad for Potter? Although, he had let Peter live. Sirius and Remus were all set to kill him when Harry interfered. He saved Peter's life. Because his father wouldn't have wanted Peter dead, he said. Or something to that effect.

Peter scowled. Why did Potter have to save his life? It would make it that much harder to kill him. 

It was raining. The ground was muddy and reflected Peter's life. Up until a few hours ago he had been safe, biding his time, well cared for, and secure. Now all of that was ripped from him and he was running for his life. But he had outsmarted Sirius twice, he could do it again. He fell asleep.

When he woke up, the rain had stopped, leaving a muddy and damp forest. Peter ventured outside; his scent would be lost in the rain now. He was safe again. 

He started to laugh. His laughter echoed through the trees. He laughed and laughed, giggling madly. He had done it. He had escaped. So much for the Great Sirius Black.

Now, to find Voldemort.

And he disappeared into the forest. He was still a rat on the run.


End file.
